


This Thing Between Us

by Kaitiedid



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic, Friends to Lovers, Kinda a case fic, M/M, RK900's name is Richard and his nickname is Nines, Swearing, They're both dramatic losers, pining for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-24 03:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16632254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaitiedid/pseuds/Kaitiedid
Summary: Gavin's come a long way from where he was. He used to be a shitty person, but he's learned a thing or two from his new best friend. He's happy with what they have- there's no one else he'd rather partner with, or share the best movies that cinematic history has to offer. He's happy with what they have. It's more than he deserves, but that doesn't stop him from wanting more.





	1. A Day in the Life

**Author's Note:**

> When I first entered the fandom, I said I would never ship Reed with anyone because he's an actual human trash fire. And then I read one (1) redemption fic and I'm stuck in this hell ship. Send help.

The house they roll up on is nice. Like, too nice for him to afford  _ ever  _ nice, and he can’t even see the damn thing yet. There’s a tall wall around the property with an honest to god palm scanner by the gate. There’s trees all along the inside of the wall, further obscuring the house from the street. What he can see of the roof is fancy shingles with those weird mini rails and what looks like a fucking turret. 

“Goddamn rich people,” he mutters under his breath. Next to him, his partner says nothing, just presses the button for the speaker. There’s a camera above them, so Gavin flashes his badge. After a second, there’s an obnoxious buzz, and the gates swing inward. They follow the gravel path in, the only sound an occasional bird and the crunch of rocks under their shoes. 

The house is just as pretentious as he expected. Three stories of sand-colored stone and big bay windows and an archway over the door. At least it’s not as bad as his brother’s. 

The door opens as they mount the steps to the porch, revealing a small woman in a white sundress. She smiles shakily at them as she welcomes them in. Her eyes are rimmed in red, as if she’d just finished crying. 

“This way, please, detectives,” she says, leading them to the living room. He shares a look with Nines before settling uncomfortably on a plush armchair that promptly tries to suck him into a pillowy hell. She sits beside her husband on the sofa across from their chairs, wrapping her arms around his. He regards them stoically through his glasses. It’s hard to get a read on him. He hopes Nines is having an easier time. 

“Okay, Mr and Mrs Ainsworth-”

“Please, call me Tami,” she interrupts. She pats her husband’s thigh. “This is Oliver. He’s a man of few words.”

“...right,” he says. There’s something off about these two, but even his finely-honed detective’s intuition can’t place what. “You called in a missing persons for your former household assistant?” He already knows the basics, but if he wants to learn anything, he’s gotta get them talking. Nines leans forward as if listening intently, hands clasped between his knees. The picture of a concerned detective, even though Gavin knows he’s just getting a good vantage point to analyze their microexpressions or whatever. 

“Yes, we did. His name is Thomas. He was our android. Before the- the revolution, we knew he was deviant. We tried to hide him, but it got too dangerous, so he ran. We just- we just want him to come home.” She starts crying then, her delicate features crumpling, and hides her face against her husband’s arm. 

“It’s been almost a year since the revolution,” Nines says, not unkindly. “Why only look for him now?”

Mr Ainsworth answers for them. “We thought he had died. But we were watching the anniversary coverage on the news, and he was on the recording, singing with that deviant leader. If he survived that, we thought- we hoped he might still be out there.”

Connor did a hell of a job with helping Nines to program his social protocols, because his partner looks deeply sympathetic and understanding. Gavin stares a beat too long at his profile before yanking his tablet out. “He’s an AP400 model, right? Can you describe him?”

Mrs Ainsworth lifts her head, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “When he was with us, his hair was dark. It was white on the news, but his eyes were the same blue. He has a scar on his neck that we didn’t have an opportunity to get repaired.” She traces a line from the lobe of her left ear to her trachea. “He fell from a ladder on the roof when he was helping my husband to reshingle the west wing. Poor thing almost shut down.”

Yeah, there was something off and creepy about that too. If he had to guess, he’d say that the fall was no accident. 

They take down all the information, including his serial number, and then get the hell out of dodge. He waits until the gate clicks shut behind them to look at Nines. He’s deep in thought, LED cycling yellow. It’s a good look on him. They climb into Gavin’s car, and only then does he speak up. “She’s a good actress, but the fake tears were too much.”

Nines had stopped being surprised by his “unexpectedly good police work” ages ago (or so he said), but the way his eyebrows quirk up says differently. Gavin scowls and flips him off before pulling onto the road. 

“What do you think they’re hiding?”

“I dunno. But I do know that when we find him, we should hold off on letting them know.”

Nines inclines his head in agreement. “I’m contacting New Jericho. If he was with them before, they might know where he is now.”

“Good call. I want to look into these people too. There’s something rubbing me the wrong way about them.”

His partner doesn’t say anything for a long moment, and then he’s treated to the Ainsworths’ entire life story. They’re the classic high-school sweethearts, married just after graduation, who went on to become multimillionaires. He pulls a face at their net worth. He knows exactly one rich person, and that’s already too many. “They’re perfectly normal on paper,” Nines concludes. Gavin hums, and turns onto the highway. Maybe they’re trying to force the android back into working for them. Since, y’know, paying the help is such a hassle, why not trap them instead. 

Nines frowns when they pull into a drive thru. He opens his mouth, probably to start the lecture that all androids seem to come preprogrammed with, but Gavin cuts him off. “I’m hungry, and it’s cheap, and I don’t want to know what’s in it. So shush.”

He doesn’t say anything as Gavin orders the biggest burrito he can, but he can feel his partner’s disapproval radiating off of him all the way to the station. 

  
  


Finding Thomas is harder than it should be. It’s almost like the guy doesn’t want to be found. And considering his previous owners, it isn’t exactly surprising. At least they’re able to confirm that an AP400 model android with white hair and a scar was on the news recording. According to the timeline the Ainsworths gave, the ladder fall had happened months before the revolution.  But his bet was that it happened right before it. With some digging, Nines had found evidence that their foyer floor had been redone and a glass end table replaced, only days after the end of the android movement. He comes around the side of his desk to interface with Gavin’s computer, standing way too close. He stares stubbornly ahead, breathing steadily to keep his heart rate at a normal pace. 

“I recorded our visit, of course,” Nines says smoothly, as if his proximity isn’t turning Gavin’s face bright red. He pauses the video on the moment they’d walked into the mansion. The ceiling rose to at least the second level in the entryway, and there was a balcony on the second floor, with two plush chairs and a coffee table between. 

“Huh,” he says. “I didn’t see that.”

“It could be because it’s very much above your eye level.”

Gavin scowls at his teasing. “I will kick you in the shins,” he threatens uselessly, walking right into the next jab.

“Because you’re not able to reach higher?”

That fucker. It’s unfair how attractive his smirk is, especially when it’s directed at him. And he doesn’t have a good comeback, because how do you insult a perfect six-foot-something android with an expertly designed body?

With a small chuckle, Nines looks away from his pissy glare, pointing to the screen. He runs his reconstruction program so that it plays out on the computer too. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud, but he will never stop being impressed by the things his partner can do. The outline of two bodies appear on the balcony. They talk, then one grabs the other and shoves him over the balcony. His body crashes into the hallway table below before smashing onto the tile. Nines pauses again to point out the tile damage could have been caused by an android smashing into it. 

“So I’m guessing the odds are that the neck damage is from the coffee table?”

“Most likely,” Nines agrees. “It was probably a cut from the wood or glass that damaged his chassis so the synth skin couldn’t cover it.”

“So what, they tried to smash him up? Because he was deviant, or what?”

One of Nines’ shoulders rises in a smooth shrug. “We’ll have to ask him when we find him.”

  
  


With a groan, Gavin rubs at his eyes and glares at the small clock in the corner of his terminal. His eyes are so tired from hours of paperwork, and he’s ready to go home and zone out in front of the TV. 

“You should go home if you’re tired.”

He chances a glance over to his partner. He isn’t looking right at him, focusing on his own computer, so Gavin lets himself enjoy the view. 

“‘M tired of work. You should be too, y’know.” Nines opens his mouth to respond, but Gavin cuts him off with, “Yeah, I know, you don’t get tired. That doesn’t mean you don’t get bored.” 

Nines shrugs, not agreeing one way or the other. There’s a beat of silence, and it has to be only awkward for him because Nines is just smiling faintly, waiting for him to say something. 

“You should come with me,” he blurts, immediately scrambling to add, “You still haven’t seen the Kingsman movie, right?”

His lips twitch up into a rare full smile. Gavin hopes that he’s not paying attention to his heartbeat at this particular second. “I have not.”

“Great,” he says cheerfully, hopping up from his seat to shrug on his jacket. He jabs the power button on his computer, waiting impatiently while Nines takes his time logging off and shutting it down properly, but he refuses to rise to such obvious bait. He’s grown as a person, thank you very much. 

They walk to his car in companionable silence. He lets Nines chose the radio station this time, because now he has good taste, thanks to Gavin’s tireless efforts. Before, he’d been corrupted by his brother’s awful music choices, which came directly from Anderson. At least they hadn’t gotten to movies yet. Poor guy should be grateful he has such  an excellent teacher for his cinematic education. 

“Do you have food at home?’ Nines asks suddenly. 

“If you’re asking about your Thirium, I haven’t touched it,” Gavin jokes. Because the answer is no, not really, unless he counts coffee beans and ramen. Which he doesn’t. 

He can feel Nines’ disapproving stare burning into his temple. “We’re stopping by the grocery store,” he announces. Gavin groans. There’s no winning against his partner in this, but that won’t stop him from bitching about it.

Shopping with Nines is actually fun, as much as he complains. His favourite game is dropping decidedly unhealthy foods in the cart, just to see the pinched look on his face. He doesn’t want half of the items he picks, so it’s perfect when they mysteriously disappear when he looks away. 

“Okay, we’re good,” he says, dropping a box of popcorn in. His partner looks over their haul, LED pulsing yellow. Without a word, he steers towards the produce aisle, picking up chicken breast and cheese and noodles and vegetables as Gavin hurries to keep up.

“Nines,” he complains, “you’re killing my food budget. We’re good already. I’ve got ramen at home.”

He’s ignored in favour of the tomatoes, which is not insulting. At all. 

If he’s playing that game, them fine. He reaches into the cart for the bag of apples, intending to sneak them back. “Put those down,” Nines says mildly. Gavin freezes guiltily before slowly retracting his hand. Fuckin’ androids and their heightened senses. He pouts, waiting for Nines to hurry up. He takes his sweet time because he loves tormenting Gavin. 

By the time they make it to the checkout, there’s more fresh food in the cart than he’s had in years. 

“I’m making dinner,”

“I gathered,” Gavin says dryly. He cringes internally as the price goes up with each beep. His wallet is already crying. The cashier reads off the total cheerfully. Before he can hand his card over, Nines nods at her, light blinking, and then she’s saying thanks and have a good night. 

“Hold up!” he protests, following Nines to the doors. “You didn’t have to pay for that. And you don’t have to cook-”

“I know. I want to.”

Well. The warm sincerity in his voice is enough to render him silent while they load up the trunk and make the short drive to his apartment. His cats greet them at the door, winding around their legs in another attempt to murder them. While Gavin gets to work filling his pathetically empty pantry and fridge, Nines starts on dinner. 

Hopping up to sit on the counter, he watches him work. It’s actually kind of cool. Every movement is precise and expertly timed, and he’s pretty sure that he’s showing off a little. That’s perfectly fine by him. Gives him a chance to watch him. He’s wearing one of his dorky turtlenecks with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and wow is he gay. He shifts on the countertop, hopes he’s not blushing as much as he thinks he is. 

“So you can cook?”

Nines pauses in flipping the chicken to smile at him. “Yes. The recipe is simple and easy to follow.”

“But don’t you need like, intuition and experimentation and stuff?” he asks, thinking back to the Gordon Ramsay shows he’s seen. Nines laughs, shaking his head as he dumps noodles in the boiling pot.

“For making and improving on recipes, yes. But I’m just replicating one. All that takes is following the directions.” He’s quiet for a second, then looks up at him, mirth sparkling in his eyes. “Maybe that’s why you’re a terrible cook.”

“You know what, friendship ended. Fuck you.” He goes as far as sticking his tongue out at Nines, because he is a grown-ass adult. 

As the only mature one, Nines ignores him and finishes cooking, not letting him touch any of the food until it’s dished nicely. His grey eyes watch him closely when he goes to take a bite, and he’s pretty sure he’s being scanned. Or recorded. 

Holy fuck it’s good. “You just ruined ramen for me,” he says mournfully, taking another bite. “How can I go back to my processed foods after this?”

His mouth turns up in that pleased smile he gets whenever he successfully completes a mission. “If I have a say in it, you won’t have to.”

  
  


After dinner, he sets the movie up. They sit together on the sofa, cats curled up on their laps, much closer than they would have been months ago. The first movie night had been an awkward affair. It’s funny looking back on it, but he’d been so stressed during. Lucky for him, Nines is patient and forgiving when it comes to their friendship. 

Nines is the perfect person to watch movies with. He doesn’t complain about Gavin’s running commentary and trivia, because he can process both simultaneously. Something he would have hated before, because it would have made him feel inferior. Now it’s just another thing he’s come to appreciate about Nines. 

Just another reason to love him. 

He’s perfect, not just because he was designed that way. It’s the little things. How awkward he is in social situations with people he doesn’t know. The way he’d made it his mission to befriend both his cats. How he’s always down for movie night, and doesn’t complain when Gavin tucks his cold toes under his thigh. The way he teases and gives him shit. 

But more than anything, the patience and time he’d put into breaking down Gavin’s walls, into getting to know  _ him _ . He’d seen the worst of him, had been on the receiving end of insults and anger, and still stayed, long after anyone else would have dropped his sorry ass. He stayed, and encouraged him to change with his mere presence. 

_ What a perfect best friend _ , he thinks, somewhat bitterly. Because that’s all they’re ever going to be. Because Nines deserves so much more than him. 

Nines’ elbow nudges his side. “I thought this was ‘one of the best scenes in cinematic history’,” he quotes.

That lifts the frown from his face. “It  _ is _ . I just know what’s coming. No don’t you dare guess-”

Nines laughs, fending off the pillow battering at him. 

They have to rewind a little after they’re settled. His cats are long gone, deeply offended by the jostling. It lets him scoot closer to Nines though, on the pretense of stealing his warmth. 

_ Yeah _ , he decides, contently. This is perfect, just the way it is. 


	2. What's Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I stay up to finish this instead of an essay? Yes. Yes I did. Will I spend the time from now until 11:58:59 furiously typing and crying internally? Also yes.

First things first when they roll into work is coffee. He leaves Nines at their desks, making a beeline for the break room. He manages to down two cups before Tina ambushes him. 

“First, I’m going to give you shit later for coming to work with Richard, because you did not  _ tell  _ me he spent the night, but I need you to listen first.”

He takes a long drink, looking entirely unimpressed with her. “It was movie night. He stayed over ‘cause it was late. I have nothing to-”

“Oh my god, I said  _ later _ .”

He gives into the whine in her voice, waving her over to their usual spot. She takes that as the go-ahead to start ranting about her ex-as-of-last-night and the totally awful things he’d done to deserve that title. Gavin listens, making sounds of agreement as she insults what’s-his-name. He had been an asshole, so he wasn’t sad to see him go.

“I’m done with men,” Tina proclaims finally, slamming her hands on the table. “From now on, I’m sticking with women.”

“Yeah, ‘cause that’s worked out for you so well in the past.” Gavin smirks at her, bracing his forearms on the table to lean on. The last officer flees the break room, shielding their coffee in case she throws something at Reed. 

“Fuck you!” she says, mock outraged. “At least  _ I’m  _ not a pining mess-”

She yelps when Gavin tackles her, pressing hands over her traitor mouth. He looks up, frantically scanning the break room. He swears when he meets Nines’ eyes. His partner is standing in the doorway, eyebrow slowly climbing up his forehead. 

“Am I interrupting?” he asks, caught between amusement and something else Gavin can’t quite place. Tina uses his moment of distraction to her advantage, opening her mouth and licking his palm. Disgusted, he pulls his hand away, wiping it on her coat. He used to do that to his brother all the time. He would have thought Tina would be above that.

“No, just going to murder my fellow officer of the law,” he says cheerfully. He hears Nines chuckle, and it does something funny to his heart. 

“And I suppose you want my help disposing of the body?”

“Don’t listen to him, arrest him!” Tina cries dramatically. 

Nines looks slowly around the room, then looks at Tina. “Are you talking to me? I don’t know what you’re talking about, I see no crime.”

Tina wails in betrayal. With a grin, he salutes Nines and dives down to tickle her. Shrieking, she starts flailing, fists flying. He dodges most of them fine, but misses the elbow to his chest. It doesn’t really hurt, just a glancing blow, but he dramatically clutches his chest and falls backwards to the cold floor.  “Nines… Nines, I’m down, I’m hit, save yourself.”

His partner kneels at his side. “You fought bravely, I will avenge you.”

Tina scrambles upright, making a break for the door. “You’ll never take me alive!”

Before he can give chase, Gavin grabs his arm, “Before I die… promise me something.” Eyes twinkling, Nines slowly places his hand on Gavin’s, trying to keep up a stoic façade. “Promise… promise me you’ll take care of Eddie and Sophie. Eddie likes fish, and Sophie-”

“Likes sleeping on faces, I know. I don’t have to breathe.”

“You’re perfect,” he says, then dies. 

He waits three beats before cracking an eye open. Nines is staring down at him in amusement. “Your death was tragic,” he says solemnly. “I now have full custody over your children.”

“I’m not paying child support.”

Ignoring that, Nines places his hand over his Thirium pump. “While you were dead, I had time to think, and the guilt is too much for me. I have to confess- I still like the music Connor and Hank showed me.”

“ _ No _ ,” he gasps, and it’s not all for show. “How could you, I trusted you- I let you control the  _ radio _ -!”

“Oh.”

They both freeze at the pleasantly surprised voice, heads turning slowly to see Connor standing in the doorway. He has a weird moment of _déjà vu_ before realizing the position they’re in. His head and shoulders are propped up on his partner’s thighs, not exactly proper workplace procedure. He scrambles to stand, Nines rising behind him. Connor stares at his brother, and his eyes twitch, light flicking to yellow. When he turns his head, he catches Nines’ doing the same thing. Narrowing his eyes, he looks between them suspiciously. “What are you two talking about?”

Their lights flash in sync again. “Markus says he’s found your missing person,” Connor says aloud. 

Glancing at Nines, Gavin finds that he’s frowning a little. It’s cute, but it’s also a sign that he’s hurt. “What, did he mix up your numbers?” he demands, offended on his partner’s behalf. 

At least Connor has the decency to look apologetic. “He wanted to make sure that you weren’t going to tell the Ainsworths where he is. He hasn’t met Nines yet, so he’s being careful.”

“I understand,” Nines says. Before Gavin can say anything else, there’s a hand on his shoulder. The fight drains out of him almost instantly. He’s still pissed that they went around instead of talking to them directly, but Nines has already let it go. He tries to follow by example. “Did you assure him that we won’t?”

“Yes, and I convinced him to bring Thomas here for you. They’ll be here soon.”, so that’s a success. “We know that the Ainsworths hurt you, so we gotta know what you know, so we can help you.”

 

Markus stays in the lobby when he arrives, so he and his entourage can chit-chat with Connor. The android he ushers into their care is nervous, LED already cycling yellow. They lead him to their desks, offering him a chair and a chance to collect himself. 

“My name is Richard,” Nines starts, “and this is my partner Detective Reed.”

“No one knows you’re here but us,” Gavin says. Thomas’ light goes blue, so that’s a success. “We know that the Ainsworths hurt you, so if there’s anything you can tell us….”

Picking at the cuff of his sleeve, he looks between the two of them and sighs. “I just want to live my life. I don’t care what they do.” 

“They’re not giving you much of a choice.”

Nines adds, “Let us help you. If you know something, we can use that to make sure that they leave you alone. Let us help you.”

Slowly, the android gives in. Gavin almost feels bad for him, but it’s the only way to help him, to make sure that the people who hurt him can’t do it again. 

“I was their home assistant. They also had an AP700 and an AC700. I haven’t seen them since the revolution.”

Gavin mirrors Nines’ body language, leaning forward with an earnest look on his face. They have to get him to open up somehow. “Can you tell us how you got your scar?”

His hand comes up to trace the jagged line of white that runs across his neck, the synth skin not quite meeting. “I was filing his documents. Mr Ainsworths. It was before I was fully deviant, but I was feeling… things. I’d seen the news, but I hadn’t put it together. But I think that they recognized the signs, so they kept a close eye on me. I found a document file that was different from the official ones on his computer.”

“What does that mean?”

He looks hesitant, and doesn’t look up from his sleeve. His LED goes a deep amber before it lightens to yellow. “I think they’ve been siphoning money from their business, or whatever the official term is. But Mrs Ainsworth walked in on me double-checking, and I think she assumed I was spying on them, because the next thing I knew, they were locking me in the storage closet upstairs, ‘for my own safety’. They told me to stay in it, but I… didn’t want to.”

“You deviated because of their betrayal,” Nines summarizes bluntly. 

The poor guy flinches, but nods. “I broke out, and tried to run to the front door. Mr Ainsworth caught me, and we… fought. I didn’t want to hurt him. But he grabbed me and threw me off the balcony. And then I ran.”

Well, fuck. He’d heard awful stories from before the revolution, but that was before. Before he started seeing them as people. Before he’d considered that each story was one of suffering deep enough to change the very code that makes up their being. He’s beyond thankful that Nines never had to deviate that way.   


“Do you still have the memory data of the files?” Nines asks suddenly. Thomas looks startled, but understanding crosses his face when Nines offers his hand, skin peeled back to reveal the white chassis underneath. The smooth white fingers are distracting, especially with the light flashing off them. He watches in interest as they interface. 

“Got it,” Nines tells him, grinning triumphantly. 

“Sweet. Let’s go arrest some rich people.”

It’s not as satisfying as he wants it to be. Instead of going to arrest them, Nines makes sure they go about it in the “right way”. He grumbles through the whole process. They close the missing person’s case, escort Thomas back to the New Jericho crew, and then hand the case over to the right department. Gavin pouts at his desk after it’s out of their hands, leaving the paperwork to Nines. 

While he’s busy, Gavin is free to kick his feet up onto his desk and pretend like he’s playing around on his phone. A perfect cover for admiring his partner at work. His eyes are sharp and focused, darting around on his screen, a small crease forming between his eyebrows. He loves poking at it when that happens, which is whenever he starts thinking too hard. And that one stupid curl that’s just begging to be tugged on. 

He starts when his phone buzzes in his hand with an incoming text. Then another. And another. He groans when he sees the slew of messages from Tina. 

_ Heard you solved the case. Congrats _

_ You should…. Celebrate with R ;) ;) ;) _

_ If you know what I mean _

_ And you do _

_ I can see your heart eyes from here, bitch _

He directs his yell towards the break room, where he knows Tina is watching them like a creeper. “No one likes a multitexter!”

“You love me, bitch!” she shouts back. 

He can hear people around the bullpen grumbling and shooting him dirty looks. He ignores them, as usual. Nines looks at him reproachfully. “You could have texted her that.”

“I know. Some things need to be said to her face though.”

Confused, Nines says, “But you didn’t even see her face.” The upward inflection at the end turns it into a question, and Gavin laughs. 

_ You. Should. Ask. Him. OUT!!! _

He frowns, furtively glancing at Nines, unnecessarily hiding his screen. You never know with those android eyes. He reads the text again and groans. She says it so casually, like what is there to lose? Only everything. Their friendship, perfect partnership, movie nights and shopping and having dinner. He’s had enough crushes on straight guys to know that they don’t take confessions well. 

He glances at his partner again, diligently uploading visual files and filling out forms and being generally perfect. The asshole. He won’t lie, it would be incredible to actually be able to do the things he dreams about. Pull Nines between his legs while he’s sitting on the counter and kiss him senseless. Cuddle with him during movie nights. Finally see how well the people at CyberLife designed the whole of his body, what color his LED would turn if he-

He furiously types out,  _ How do you know he even likes guys? _

_ Have you seen the way he looks at you. And! There’s always a gay twin _

_ They’re not technically twins and Connor has that covered. _

_ They’re both the gay twin!! Now ASJ HIM!!1! _

He doesn’t bother mocking her typos, and tosses his phone onto his desk. Nines looks up at him and smiles when their eyes meet. There’s… there’s something in them, now that he’s looking for it. The way his eyes widen, then turn up as he smiles. The fondness in his eyes. He doesn’t look like that when he smiles at Tina, or any of the other officers he talks with. Maybe there’s something to Tina’s observation. 

  
  


When the end of their shift comes, he’s made his decision. And if there’s one thing he’s good at (besides being an asshole), it’s sticking to a plan when he’s made up his mind. He’s a lot like Nines in that regard. 

Standing, he shrugs on his jacket, glances around the mostly deserted room to make sure they had at least a little privacy. The last thing he needs is everyone seeing him stutter his way through a goddamn confession. They might discover that he actually has feelings. 

“Hey, Nines?”

“Yes?”

“I know you were just over, but uh… wanna come over again?” He pauses, then panics when he looks ready to reply. “And before you agree! It’s not in a- in a friend way. My invite.” 

That could not have gone worse. That is not how he wanted to say it, that was the lamest confession ever.  _ Fuck _ . He can feel the heat of embarrassment warming his face. 

Nines is frozen at his desk. His light goes yellow, then bright blue. Without breaking eye contact, he presses the power button on his terminal and stands. “I thought you would never ask.”

Gavin sputters out something that sounds like he’s choking on his own tongue. “Are- are you fuckin’ serious? You knew!”

The asshole has the gall to look smug, straightening his jacket and stepping around their desks. “Of course I would notice. I am the most advanced investigative model there is. And you’re not nearly as subtle as you think you are.”

“Then why-!”

His grin is infuriating. “I wasn’t going to be the first to say anything.”

He’s not sure if he should be pissed or happy or turned on, but he doesn’t have time to settle on one. Nines strolls past him casually before pausing to look over his shoulder. 

“Are you coming, Gavin? Or am I to also assume ownership of your apartment?”

Gavin’s legs are carrying him forward before he makes the conscious decision, bumping his shoulder into Nines as he passes. “I take it back, you just lost custody of the kids. And I’m locking you out.”

Nines protests, of course, but Gavin’s already racing him to the car. He doesn’t care if he gets weird looks as he sprints through the precinct, laughing like a madman. Nines is going to catch him, he knows, because there’s no way he can outrun someone who was designed to chase and hunt. But maybe that’s the point. He’s been holding back for so long, it’s nice to know that Nines wants this, whatever this is going to be, just as badly. And maybe it’s just a little exhilarating to feel strong arms catch him around the waist and lift him like he weighs nothing. 

They’ll have time to work out how to be whatever new thing they’re going to be. Right now, he’s going to kick his best friend’s ass or die trying. 

 


End file.
